After years with only a few outposts for fair-trade, hand-crafted espresso, coffee culture has finally arrived in Berlin. Now the Eastern neighborhoods of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, as well as Kreuzberg and Schöneberg in the West, have enough high-end coffeehouses to keep you well caffeinated. Here are five favorites worth buzzing about:
Pictured: No Fire No Glory – Courtesy of No Fire No Glory
Barn Coffee Roastery
Newcomer, the Barn Coffee Roastery, is an airy space between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg with pared-down interiors in finished concrete and raw wood (the kind that gives you splinters). Be aware that the Barn has a no-stroller policy, and that's just the beginning of its rules and regulations. Children who do make it in must remain in their seats unless accompanied by an adult, and sugar is verboten. Just as well this place serves to-die-for espresso macchiatos and cappuccinos, and slow-poured filter coffee made with an Aeropress or V60 filter. Servers are happy to walk customers through the brewing process, and they all speak Australian-accented English.
Pictured: Barn Coffee Roastery – Courtesy of Johannes Kleske
Godshot
A homegrown feel characterizes Godshot in the center of Prenzlauer Berg. Flea-market Modernist chairs and mismatched tables are spread over three levels so there are plenty of places to grab a seat. There's no upscale filter brewing here, just perfectly frothed and bitterness-balanced espressos and espresso-based drinks. Service is friendly, and the default language is actually German.
Pictured: Godshot – Courtesy of Godshot
No Fire No Glory
Do-gooder No Fire No Glory serves Coffee Collective fair-trade espresso. In the cup, Coffee Collective has overtones of caramel and marzipan—it's good stuff. Less flea-market-chic than many of its high-end coffee counterparts, No Fire No Glory is done up in soothing gray tones and bleached white furnishings The café is a haunt for chic moms and toddlers, which demographically makes it the opposite of the Barn Coffee Roastery.
Pictured: No Fire No Glory – Courtesy of No Fire No Glory
Chapter One
Kreuzberg's Chapter One, opened in summer 2012, brings a lovably nerdy approach to both espresso and filter coffee. The storefront space has a few high stools and a wraparound counter, the focus here is on the coffee brewing, which happens front and center. The staff takes their time making (and on demand, explaining) their filter creations, which involves water heated to exactly 200 degrees and a siphon. The results can be fruity or caramelly, but traditionalists may want to opt for the world-class cappuccinos, which have just the right toasty and toffee overtones.
Pictured: Chapter One – Courtesy of Nora Smahelova
Double Eye
Double Eye, Berlin's original espresso café, opened in Schöneberg back in 2001. Servers will ask you one question: "Strong or mild?" Strong espresso costs exactly one euro and is of the ultra-ristretto variety—a highly concentrated swallow of perfection. Decor at this standing room–only joint is an afterthought and service tends towards the cliché of German humorless efficiency—but customers line up outside nonetheless. In Berlin, it seems, coffee lovers will put up with any amount of tough love to get their fix.
Pictured: Double Eye – Courtesy of Premshree Pillai via flickr
Finally, caffeine addicts can get their fix in the German capital